On Gorse and Nature

I very strongly detest gorse. The kiwis will know what I mean - that introduced plant full of thorns that was originally brought over from Western Europe as early as 1835, with the intention of making nice hedges to keep our livestock contained and create windbreaks. In our warmer climate it went out of control, and turned out to be New Zealand's most costly invasive plant pest. Wikipedia reckons it now covers around 5% of our land. And it is very VERY difficult to control, impossible to eradicate.

Why the history lesson? Well, I was on a fantastic bush walk today with family, but got very angry about the gorse all through our lovely native landscape . We ended up negotiating a near vertical cliff face to get down to an uninhabited beach and cave system worth visiting. Where the track became more mud than rock one really had to have a grip on the surrounding available vegetation or roots just in case you lost your footing. And of course often that included trying to avoid the gorse if possible. Horrible stuff. I felt resentment welling up about the whole rush to introduce 'homeland' species to a new land without thoroughly testing the outcomes.

Wind back a bit to yesterday. I was reading an article in 'Psychologies' Magazine that was endorsing the benefits of getting into nature, and this inspired me to book in time for a family walk in our local West Auckland bush. "When everyday life gets overwhelming, tapping into the power of the wilderness...or a journey through an untamed landscape, offers us the chance to rebalance our lives and get in touch with what really matters" it said. Quite apart from the fitness and fresh air aspect, being 'out there' helps disconnect us from everything causing anxiety and dissatisfaction - gets us out of our 'having' mode, and helps us feel part of something larger than ourselves.

Well being a believer I know I have this very power inside of me at all times, but there is something 'spiritual' about the wilderness and untamed places that brings me awareness of another side of Him. And there are stories and anecdotes and analogies, metaphors, parables and life lessons whispering all around you if you open your heart to the experience. I eventually became aware of my feelings towards the gorse and asked 'what's the lesson?' It was out of place and ruining the experience - there was not a single indigenous species on this cliffside causing any problem, in fact rather they created great hand holds for our descent and return ascent. (No plants were hurt in the making of this blog.)

Gorse is an invader. Pure and simple. It had its place in the colder regions of Europe - obviously highly regarded there or the pioneers would not have brought it over. But when creating a new life for yourself in new territory you should not bring things that worked for you in the past. You need to live in the new for a while until you get used to 'the way things are' now, how things operate, what contributes to the balance, find out the purpose of the indigenous species and whether you really need anything else or not. Then, when you do introduce a new thing, do one at a time, and start small, testing it with the appropriate controls and over a period of time long enough to see the results and side effects, before making the call to go with it whole hog.

Now how can we apply this personally? What is the 'new land' you are emigrating to? Is it a new position at work or new work place? Is it a new relationship, or shifting flats? Is it an actual geographical shift? Are you just contemplating a change at this stage? Gosh, a change can be great for the soul so I would go for it if it is something you are sure you believe in. What's the worse that could happen? How likely is that? What is the best thing that could happen? How likely is that?
But once you have made the change, rest in the new zone for a while without making further hasty decisions about what you are going to bring to the table, what you are going to introduce, or trying to change other's point of view. Just 'be' for a while and enjoying learning about your new environment, the people and their ways. Try to make sense of what is different and why it might be that way. The wrong change can be costly, and may not be something you can ever take back or undo!

No one likes prickles. That's the other thing I learned. Prickly attitudes turn people off, but also can be invasive and spread through the whole environment. So make like a flax leaf and be flexible but tough. Ooooh, another analogy! But I'll keep that one for another day.
Meanwhile, find that wild place and go visit it with friends or by yourself (safely) to destress and rebalance. It really works! And take some pineapple lumps with you for good measure. Until next time, haere ra .